A preform for blow moulding to form a container, the preform being formed of a thermoplastic material, the preform comprising a neck finish at an open end of the preform, an elongate body section and a closed end, wherein the body section has elongate, longitudinally extending inner and outer surfaces each centered about a longitudinal axis of the preform, the inner and outer surfaces defining therebetween a wall of the body section, wherein the wall of the body section has at least one locally thickened portion along the body section, the locally thickened portion being thicker than adjacent first and second thinner portions at respective opposite longitudinal ends of the thickened portion, the thickened portion having an inner surface portion which is nearer to the longitudinal axis than respective first and second inner surface portions of the first and second thinner portions.

Disclosed herein, amongst other things, is a molded article, such as a preform that is blow moldable to form a container, and a related method of forming and recycling a container. The structure and steps includes injection molding a molded article having tubular body.

A blow molding mold in which a holding mechanism is independently provided to a bottom mold and is configured to be capable of gripping a protruding portion provided to a bottom portion of a preform independently of a gate portion, and a rotation mechanism is configured to be capable of rotating the bottom mold, relative to a neck portion of the preform which is in a stationary state held by neck molds, in a state where the protruding portion is gripped by the holding mechanism.

A continuously rotating, non-symmetric preform feed, stretch-blow-moulding machine dedicated to the stretch-blow-moulding of containers from non-symmetric injection moulded preforms; the non-symmetric preforms including an integral handle extending from a first junction point to a second junction point on a body of the preform; the body of the preform and the integral handle constituted from the same material.